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[edit] Disambiguation

I notice that this page (on the historical event) is distinguished from that on the book (and film) only by the "The". This seems to me a rather arbitrary distinction since while the "The" may be part of the official title, people will still search without it; and, conversely, the event is the only one of its kind and therefore quite likely to be referred to as "The ...". I'm not sure what disambiguation approach would be best in this case, but some thought is probably needed. - IMSoP 11:21, 11 Apr 2005 (UTC)

[edit] No proof for Botticelli statement

This article records that Sandro Botticelli threw his paintings into the Bonfire of the Vanities. Although this is a popular belief, there is no evidence to support this claim. Even Giorgio Vasari, convinced of Botticelli’s devotion to Savonarola, does not include Botticelli among the artists who contributed their artworks to the fire in his Lives of the Artists. According to John Wyndham, Botticelli could still be counted among the enemies of Savonarola (Wyndham, 4) at the time the two Bonfires were held in 1497. Herbert Horne recorded that as of 1499, Botticelli recieved a commission from Guidantonio Vespucci, who was also recognized as an outspoken enemy of Savonarola (Horne, 282). If Botticelli was a follower of Savonarola, it is unlikely that he would accept commissions from a known enemy. This evidence seems to disprove the theory that Botticelli willingly submitted his paintings to a public burning in 1497. If nothing else, the evidence is inconclusive and one cannot know for certain that Botticelli participated in this event. -TLD

See for more information: Horne, Herbert P. Alessandro Filipepi Commonly Called Sandro Botticelli, Painter of Florence, 1908, 2nd ed. London: George Bell and Sons, 1986. Steinberg, Ronald M. Fra Girolamo Savonarola, Florentine Art, and Renaissance Historiography. Athens: Ohio University, 1977. Wyndham, John. Sandro Botticelli: The Nativity, in the National Gallery, London. London: Percy, Lund, Humphries and Co., [n.d.]. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.229.105.10 (talk) 02:45, 7 December 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for that. I’ll remove the reference to Botticelli and mark the whole article as wanting sources. If you can improve the article, please go ahead! Cheers, Ian Spackman (talk) 00:36, 10 December 2007 (UTC)